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Punters inhabit an isolated but exclusive niche in the football world, and the community is close-knit, says Georgia native Richie Leone of the B.C. Lions.

Finding commonality in the terror of a blocked punt or being the last defender between a returner and the end zone, the American professional and collegiate punting community shared in a much more profound tragedy Sunday when it learned of the deaths of Nebraska Cornhuskers punter Sam Foltz and former Michigan State punter Mike Sadler.

Both died in a single-car crash Saturday evening while returning from a punting clinic in Wisconsin. LSU kicker Colby Delahoussaye was also injured in the crash, about 48 kilometres west of Milwaukee.

According to a police report, the 24-year-old Sadler, whom Leone has known since his senior year in high school, was at the wheel at the time of the accident and lost control on wet pavement. Sadler and Leone have been students and instructors at many of the same punting camps, such as the one run Saturday by punting guru Jamie Kohl in Waukesha County, Wis.

“Just after I got into the locker-room Sunday, Justin Medlock (of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers) texted me and said, ‘Did you hear what happened?’ ” Leone explained. “It was very upsetting. You talk about a bright light — a Rhodes scholar, a joy to be around. Mike’s in law school at Stanford. Both he and I came out of high school in 2010. We trained together in the summers, during college (Leone went to the University of Houston). It was so unfortunate to hear what happened.

“The kicking community itself is actually really small. We all kind of know each other. We all stick together. That’s why it really hits home. As a family, as a unit, the whole punting community is hurting.”

RING FINGERS: Former NFL defensive back Chandler Fenner rejoined the Lions on Monday (he was released June 18) and restores the team’s collection of Super Bowl rings to four.

Fenner and Lions nose tackle Mic’hael Brooks were both on the practice roster of the Super Bowl XLVIII-champion Seattle Seahawks in 2014.

BC Lions’ Chandler Fenner.Gerry Kahrmann /
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Defensive lineman George Uko, now a member of the Lions’ practice squad, has a Super Bowl ring from his time with the Denver Broncos.

As well, running back Anthony Allen’s $30,000 Super Bowl ring is in a safe-deposit box in Miami, a reward for his association with the Baltimore Ravens.

“We definitely talk about our rings,” Fenner said. “But we talk more of our experiences, the memories. We don’t necessarily focus on hardware. We talk about the (championship) run. And that’s what we want to do here — make a run.”

Fenner, 26, was between football gigs and working out at a training facility in Bellevue, Wash., when he got the surprise call to rejoin the Lions. To make room for Fenner, the team released import running back J.C. Coleman.

“You can never get discouraged by any type of failure,” Fenner said. “Because you never know when the next opportunity is going to come. When the call comes, it comes quick.

“I’d just finished my workout Sunday — I was looking at fishing spots online; it’s salmon season — and the call came. I dropped everything. And I’m here — on a Monday. You have to be prepared.”

HEADED BACK: Rookie right guard Charles Vaillancourt, who earned a starting spot right out of training camp, is dressing for practice but still not able to engage in contact yet as he goes through concussion protocol.

The fifth overall pick in the 2016 CFL draft, Vaillancourt was diagnosed with concussion symptoms after the Lions’ July 1 game in Hamilton.

How did it happen? He can’t remember.

“The thing is, there wasn’t one hit in particular, where I felt hurt or lit-up,” Vaillancourt explained. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out now. Maybe it wasn’t a concussion. I never came out of the game. I felt OK, until the next day. I’m being kept out for more evaluation, as a precaution.”

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